Untold Tales
by Strife667
Summary: The Tales of the heroic Mysticons were nothing short of legendary. Yet, not all tales were told. As we dive into these untold tales, we find there is more to their story than meets the eye. Note: Mostly OC centric.
1. The Adventure Begins

**This is just a minor project I'm working one that I've been thinking long and hard about. Since I tend to do one shots of my OC's quite often, I decided to put them all in one fic so they're not all over the place. **

**Basically, these stories will consist of my two OC's incorporated in various episodes of the series and how I envisioned them. Mind you, I won't do **_**every**_ **single episode, just ones that I feel said OC's would have a significant role. So for this one, I will be open for requests on this fic, just know that I'll get to these at my own pace.**

**Appropriately, this first chapter takes place during the events of "sisters in arms".**

* * *

Drake City, a metropolis full of wonder, prosperity, and… dishonest acts.

There were Charlie and Nixon, ever so smug and snide, walking along the streets as they noticed an old panhandler off to the side. Being the snakes they were, they plopped one gold piece in the panhandler's coin mug, to which they snatched at least four gold pieces which flew out upon the impact.

"Ha!" Expcalmed Charlie. "Nothin' like the sound of gold in the mornin', eh Nixon?"

"You said it." Nixon agreed. "Here old man, cool off a little." He then poured a fountain drink he was holding on the old panhandler. The old man barely flinched, not that the two jerks noticed, as they just laughed and walked away. They barely made it a few feet when a young elf girl, Piper, appeared out of nowhere.

"Good morning good sirs!" Said Piper. "Feeling lucky today? All it costs is one coin to win!

"Hmm, I don't know Nixon." Charlie's said in a mocking tone. "You think we can take this 'fierce' little elf?" He finished with a wink.

"I hope so Charlie." Nixon replied "These are my last coins." He then smugly smirked afterwards, to which both burst into laughter, and placed one coin.

"Fabtacular!" The elf girl then picked up a snake clock and placed on her table. "Pick the right cup and you'll win this razzmatazz prize!"

Charlie and Nixon chuckled with confidence. Poor fools, little did they know that this was a well thought out scam. In the shadows, Zarya and Choko seized the opportunity to copy a key that Nixon was holding. Once that was done, sneakily as possible no less, Piper stopped moving the cups.

"That one." Nixon said. As the elf moved the cup, it was empty.

"Boo-hoo. Sad face emoji" the elf slumped mockily.

"Blimey cheater!" Charlie growled, swatting the cups out of the way to reclaim his coin.

"Time to clean up this mess." Nixon added, turning the table over, causing the elf to step into the shadows while the twins proceeded to destroy the table.

"Ha, dummies." Piper. They'll be at that for hours!"

"Come on, Piper." Zarya said. "Clock's ticking on this copy."

With that, both ran as fast as they could would the two dimwits were preoccupied. It wouldn't be too long before they reached their destination… Creed Slitherwick's cargo ship, filled with pilfered goods.

"Bullseye!" Zarya said with triumph. She then turned to Piper, who looked nervous about boarding that vessel, past experiences considered. "Don't worry, Pipes. This is only a grab and go. So let's go in, then grab, then go."

Piper seemed reluctant at first, but then she remembered that the Undercity kids were counting on them. "Yeah, let's do it!" Piper said

They then board the vessel, evading all of Creed's goons every step of the way. Zarya tells Choko to keep watch while they search the cargo. So many to choose from, so Zarya just chose one at random, using a crowbar made from magic to pry it open. "Jackpot!" She said.

"All this could feed everyone for a week!" Piper added. Both didn't hesitate to get started.

As Piper and Zarya finished rounding up as many goods as they could, they saw their faithful foz sleeping on the job.

"Choko!" Zarya said irritably, catching the poor mole-like creature off guard. "You were supposed to keep watch!"

Little Choko looked ashamed for a moment. That moment only lasted a few seconds at the sound of a reptilian tail hitting the floor of the ship, catching their attention. The sight was enough to turn poor Piper pale. There stood Creed, the boss himself, with a very irritated Charlie and Nixon standing with him. Piper hid behind Zarya at the sight.

"Well, well. What have we here?" Creed said calmly. "My two favorite trouble makers, starting trouble as usual." He then tsked, wavering his finger. "Sadly, ladies, I'm afraid this just won't do."

Zarya just smirked. "Funny, I could have sworn I found a snake in the grass." Piper giggled pretty hard at that, finding it very funny indeed.

Creed, on the other hand, was not amused one bit, banging his cane on the floor. "I'm not in the mood for idle banter! Now, you're going to return my resources right back where you found them… or else."

"Or else what?" Zarya said with daring scowl, making it very clear she wasn't afraid of him whatsoever. Creed then hissed with frustration.

"Boys," he said. "Show these good for nothing thieves exactly what happens when you steal from Creed Slitherwick!"

"Thieves?!" Piper exclaimed loudly. "You're the only thief here, you monster!"

"C'mon Pipes, lets go!" Zarya declared, seeing Creed's muscular henchmen advancing toward them. With that, they ran.

After a long chase, it seemed like both Zarya and Piper were cornered, as they were at the very edge of a construction beam.

"My, my." Creed chuckled. "Looks like our little game ends here." Just as he approached, Zarya notices the train passing by below them. "Any last words?"

"Yeah… later haters!" Zarya suddenly said, causing Creed to stare in confusion. Both street rats jumped off the beam, using belts to slide along the magic train cable. Creed could only look on with a controlled annoyance, robbed once again.

"Them has got to be the best thieves in the entire realm!" Charlie said, gritting his teeth.

"They just got lucky." Creed said dismissively. "Sooner or later, their luck will run out." That lasted sentence ended in a cold hearted tone, as he hissed in anger.

* * *

All was not well at the Royal Palace. Despite four new legendary warriors coming to be, the odds were not in their favor. For starters, they were still new to their abilities, to say nothing of the oncoming horde of undead skeletons coming out of the woodwork. Granted, the girls were learning fairly quickly, they were still at a disadvantage. And so, there seemed to be only one logical solution…

Without a moment's hesitation, the mighty astromancer, Zorlon, jumped right of Dreadbane, who was advancing toward his opponents. "Halt Dreadbane!" He demanded.

Dreadbane chuckled, yet another warrior to be crushed beneath his foot. "You really think you have a chance, mere starmage?"

"This is your only warning, leave now while I still allow it." Zorlon said, his tone cold.

"My Queen would never back down… and neither will I!" With that, Dreadbane swung his sword at Zorlon, to which the starmage narrowly blocks.

Being more agile, Zorlon was able to dodge most of Dreadbanes attacks until he jumped away a reasonable distance, to which he fired strong blue aura at him. Zorlon was so sure that got him… he was wrong. Out of the smoke, Dreadbane walked out, seemingly unscathed.

"H-how can that be?" Zorlon asked with shock.

"There is so much about me you don't know mage." With a swipe of his sword, Dreadbane unleashed a shockwave that effortlessly knocked Zorlon back.

"Zorlon!" Malveron called out. The young mage tried to reach his master, only to be blocked off by more skeletons.

Groaning, Zorlon tried to get back on his feet. Before he could, Dreadbane picked him up by his coat, and positioned his sword to deliver the fatal blow.

"So long, Astromancer."

Just in the nick of time, the girls fired at Dreadbane, causing him to release Zorlon. Using a brief moment of teamwork, they made short work of the skeleton army and managed to overwhelm Dreadbane. Zorlon was impressed with how quickly the girls have learned.

Outnumbered and outmatched, Dreadbane retreated. It seeemd like all was good… until Zarya and Piper made off with the Dragon Disk.

* * *

Storm clouds formed around the Royal Palace. This was a tragic day, for there stood the king and queen, completely formed into bone statues. Poor Arkayna, all she could do was look on helplessly at her petrified mother, with tears no less.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I failed you." Just like that, the distraught princess completely broke down, sinking to her knees, her tears flowing like waterfalls. Em, her tender hearted best friend, was quick to move in and comfort her.

"Don't blame yourself, Arkayna" Em said, her tone disheartened yet caring. "There was nothing you could have done."

"That's not true, Em!" Arkayna declared. "I could have trained more and have been more ready, otherwise this wouldn't have happened." Arkayna did her best to wipe her tears away. Her teeth then gritted at one thought. "I could have stopped those thieves." Quickly, forgotten was her anger, and sadness and remorse took over.

"Don't worry, Arkayna." Em said, her tone much more determined. "If it's the last thing we do, we will save your parents!"

"She's right." Said a mature male voice. As both Em and Arkayna turned around, there was Zorlon walking in, his ward Malveron following suit. "We can still save your parents. _You _can still your parents."

"But how?" Arkayna questioned as she stood up. "Those thieves took the disk, they could be anywhere by now."

"Where there's a will, there's always a way." Zorlon said. As the older mage got a little closer, Arkayna couldn't help but be a little intimidated, for he was much taller up close. What little fear she had was brushed away as he softly placed a hand on her shoulder. "The real question is, do you have the will to find the way?"

Arkayna wasn't sure how to answer at first. _Am I really up to the task? _She then took another look at her bone statue parents, followed by a quick look at her new found powers, as her hand started glowing green bright green. A new resolve then filled her eyes.

"I do have the will." Arkayna said firmly.

"That's all we need to know." Zorlon said with a smile. "Malveron, if you please."

"Got it, Z-man." Malveron replied. With that, a magical sphere appeared in his hand, revealing the location of the thieves, much to Arkayna's surprise.

* * *

**Yeah, nothing too special about this one, just some doctored scenes. **

**Now that I'm going through with these, a strong part of me is tempted to move some older stories I've written in this fic, such as "My Little Weapon" and "Kindred Spirits". At the same time, I really would hate to see the nice reviews I've gotten on those go. Please let me know in the review section and tell me what you think.**

**As always, I hope you enjoyed.**


	2. Strife and Resolve

**This takes place during "How to Train a Mysticon", before Tazma revealed her true colors. For this one, I wanted to concentrate on Zorlon's rather tense relationship with Nova Terron.**

* * *

It had been at least a day since the girls battled Dreadbane. Time being of the essence, Zorlon and Malveron led them to the Astromancer Academy, where they would hopefully get help on their perilous quest to free the King and Queen. To say that their impression on the academy's starmaster, Nova Terron, was not so great would be putting it mildly.

There Nova storming through the halls with an irritated expression, having seen Arkayna's poor progress. Zorlon was following behind him, trying to assure him things would be just fine, so far to no avail.

"Absolutely outrageous!" Nova shouted, marching on. "The Dragon Disk goes dormant for a century, and now it chooses incompetent children as Mysticons? What is this realm coming to?"

"Starmaster, please be reasonable." Zorlon replied, his tone full of plead. "You haven't seen them in action like I have, they have outstanding potential. All they need is time to adjust into their roles."

"Time is not on our side!" Nova whirled, pointing his finger at Zorlon, who recoiled a bit. "Even now, Dreadbane is plotting to gather all the codex pieces for Gygax knows what! Something that will bring forth the apocalypse, that much is certain."

"Yes, I'm aware of that. Believe me, they will rise to the occasion when the time comes, but the key word there is time. These are not warriors, these are young souls how have been given granted powers they don't fully understand. They must be treated with care, understanding, and above all patience_."_

"Patience eh?" Nova raised an eyebrow. "That would be a good word for the so called 'Dragonmage' to learn. She's perhaps the worst of them all." He them summoned an image of her lugging buckets of water, complaining while she did so. "Her arrogance is absolutely deplorable, and will no doubt lead to the realm's destruction."

"With all due respect, I suppose any of your other students were so different?" Zorlon retorted, arching an eyebrow.

Nova then stared daggers the younger mage. "You best mind your tone, Icestone." He said coldly, until he was but an inch away from Zorlon, nearly at eye level. "After all, I'm the one who got you where you are, you would be nothing without my teachings. Or have you forgotten?"

That hit a nerve with Zorlon, as he narrowed his eyes at his starmaster. "I haven't forgotten." He crossed his arms as he went on. "I also haven't forgotten that I became one of your best astromancers in _time_. That's what it takes to become well versed in the mystic arts, it takes time. I taught Malveron and Tazma knowing this, and they became talented young mages for it. Sure, there were bumps in the road, but I was still patient with them and that patience paid off with Tazma being a top level astromancer. Or have _you_ forgotten?"

Both mages glared at each other for what seemed to be hours. It was almost as if they were communicating with each other telepathically. If that were the case, the look in their eyes concluded that it wasn't exactly a friendly argument.

"For all our sakes, Zorlon, you had better be right about these four. Frankly, from what I see, they're not suited to protect all of Gemina." With that, Nova stormed away, leaving his subordinate.

Zorlon could only rub his forehead out of frustration from that argument. He then began half heartedly stroking his beard, his face full of concern. He remained hopeful that the girls would rise to the occasion, if the previous battle with Dreadbane was anything to go by. Nevertheless, they were still new to their roles, and had a lot to learn before they could even call themselves Mysticons… Arkayna especially, being their leader.

"Gygax, please help them on their quest." Zorlon sighed, hoping the girls would be ready for whatever comes their way. He then face balmed as he heard Arkayna storming through, making her way to Tazma by the sound of things. "Yet another flame I have to put out." He sighed.

* * *

"This is a dark time, my fellow astromancers." Nova said. "One of our own kin, Tazma, had let her ambition to lead on the path her to the of darkness. You did very well to bring this to my attention, Zorlon." Zorlon himself was looking down at the floor, his expression disheartened. He tried his best to brimg Tazma away from the dark arts. Alas, he failed miserably. "Despite this set back, the Mysticons still need to continue their training. In other words, they need a new solon."

Zorlon looked at Malveron for a moment. He wanted so badly for Malveron to step up and become the solon he was training so hard to be. Yet, from the expression he could see on the young mage; a combination of sadness from betrayal and nervousness to take the step, he could tell Malveron was not quite ready. With a look of resolve, Zorlon faced his master.

"I'll do it." Zorlon flatly said, earning confused looks from his fellow mages.

"You?" Gandobi inquired. "What could you possibly offer these incompetent children?"

"Experience." Zorlon replied firmly. "For centuries I've trained young mages to use their gifts responsibly. Malveron here, being one of them. With formal training, I know they will become the heroes of legends they were chosen to be."

"A likely story." Quaserala said, her tone doubtful. "Yet, Tazma was your ward too, was she not? What's to stop you from failing them like you did her?"

"One failure doesn't change years of success." Zorlon replied. "If you'll let me, starmaster, I'll gladly make amends. But only... if Malveron assists me."

"If what now?!" Malveron said, shocked.

"Preposterous!" Gandobi exclaimed. "What could possibly-"

"He's someone who can understand them!" Zorlon shouted, causing Gandobi to recoil. "It would benefit them to have someone closer to their age train them, someone they can better relate to, someone who can learn along the way. That is, with your kind permission, Starmaster.

Nova stroked his beard for a moment to ponder this. To everyone's shock, "Permission granted."

"But starmaster, he-"

"I'm aware of his failure, Gandobi!" Nova snapped. He then turned his attention to Zorlon. "Which is why I leave you with this warning; what ever happens to these young warriors, falls directly on you. Are you ready for that burden?"

"I am." Zorlon said without hesitation.

"Very well, this meeting is adjourned. Come Gandobi, Quaserala, we need to purge the academy of anymore traitors still lingering." Just like that, the astromancers dispersed.

"W-wow, Zorlon." Malvaron said. "I don't know what to say."

"You earned this, Malvaron." Zorlon said assuring, placing his hands on the young mage's shoulders. "This is your chance to show everyone what you can do."

"Yeah, buddy." Doug said, in a sad voice. "I guess you'll be moving up in the world, woo." The cyclops cheered half heartedly. "I guess, I'll see you later."

Zorlon looked at Malvaron for a moment, arching an eyebrow. The young mage then gave an expression of insistence, saying to let Doug join. Zorlon then gave a big sigh. He had nothing against Doug personally, but he knew the big guy could be a bit of a cluts. Nevertheless, Malvaron hinted that he would only help if he had Doug to help out. And so...

"Say...Doug." Zorlon said, hesitantly.

"Yeah?" Doug said with an innocent puppy dog eye, which Zorlon somewhat winced at.

"I could use another assistant. I don't suppose you would like to..."

"Oh thank you!" Doug said, catching Zorlon in a bear hug, crushing the poor mage in the process. "I promise, I'll be the best assistant I can be, you won't regret this!" Zorlon quickly pulled away, catching his breath.

"I'm sure." He said, after a few deep breaths. "That just leaves one thing. To lay low and practice in secret, we'll need our own base of operations. In other words, a secet stronghold."

"I know just the perfect place." Em said, after a moment of thinking.

* * *

**Pretty short chapter. Apologies** **if this one seemed a little rushed, writers block reared its ugly head toward the end. Later chapters should go a bit more smoothly.**

**As always, feel free to share your thoughts. Hope you enjoyed.**


	3. What I Could Have Been

**Sorry for the short hiatus, real life kind of caught up with me, not to mention I had to really think this fic through.**

**This one takes place between the episodes "How to Train a Mysticon" and "Coronation"**

* * *

Arkayna sat on the balcony, staring in the horizon. She was up pretty early, as it was nearly sunrise. She couldn't help but think of Tazma and her treachery. It was unforgivable what she had done; she became their solon and trained them how to use their power, only to betray them, obtain a piece of the codex, and above all attempt murder on her own brother.

Yet, that wasn't what Arkayna was contemplating about. That wasn't to say she wasn't angry with the shadow mage, that was never in question. But what she was feeling was different than what she was expecting, and at the moment, it was all she could think about.

"Gold piece for your thoughts?"

Arkayna slightly turned her head to see her new solon, Zorlon, showed up. He approached the comptemplenting princess, picking up on her negative vibe.

"It's strange." Arkayna said. "How watching someone else can make you reflect on yourself, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" Zorlon inquired, sitting next to Arkayna.

Arkayna gave a big sigh. "Malvaron told me what happened to his parents."

"Oh… I see." Zorlon said with his head down.

"It all makes sense now; why Tazma betrayed us and why she chose to dive into dark magic... all because she felt so helpless, not being able to save her parents. I can relate to that."

"Oh?" Zorlon arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah, and that's what scares me. Me and Tazma are so much alike in that sense; we both lost our parents in some way. I probably could have been Tazma. To see her so evil, so full of dark thoughts… it makes me wonder if I have that same darkness in me too."

Zorlon was admittedly taken by surprise. Of all the answers he was expecting, he wasn't expecting this one. Still, the way she explained it, it made a lot of sense. His expression became that of sympathy, as he tried to council the princess.

"Believe me, Arkayna, I would love nothing more than to tell you that there are two kinds of people; those who are have darkness in their hearts, and those who don't. The truth is, we all have darkness in our hearts. That darkness is always lingering, waiting for a chance to surface, and negative emotions make it so tempting to embrace. However…"

Arkayna then perked up a little, with a look of curiosity.

"Even in darkness, there is always a glimmer of light. Both light and darkness coexist in a delicate balance, each one being a choice. Tazma chose darkness. Which one will _you_ choose?"

Arkayna began to understand. Indeed Tazma and her were more similar than she cared to admit, though the difference was what truly mattered. Arkayna then stood up firmly, not hesitating to give an answer.

"Darkness isn't going to help me now. It's not going to help Tazma, and for that matter it's not going to help Dreadbane. So, light it is."

Zorlon then smiled. He at least took comfort that Arkayna had no interest in diving into the dark arts like Tazma. That was a start at least. He then looked on to see the sunrise. It was a beautiful sight indeed.

"We better go greet the others. Today, your training _truly_ begins."

Zorlon got up and made his way through the palace doors. Arkayna was following suit, but not before having a look at the sunrise herself. _A glimmer of light, _she thought. If the sunrise would symbolize anything, perhaps it meant she had chosen the right path.

* * *

**Updates may vary from time to time. Sometimes I might take a long while to update, other times I might update like crazy. Really, it depends on how busy I am and what else I want to do in my spare time.**

**I'm quite proud of this one. I really wanted Zorlon to have more interaction with Arkayna in this fic, and this worked out quite nice, even if I might say do myself.**

**At any rate, feel free to tell me what you think of the new chapter, thank you for reading.**


	4. Kids These Days

**This takes place in no episode in particular, just thought this was an important chapter to get out there. Basically, I needed to establish the interactions between Zorlon and Piper.**

* * *

Zorlon just about finished unloading the last bit of magical items in his collection to his new study in the stronghold. He quickly summoned a clipboard, double checking to see if everything was accounted for.

_Arcane objects: check_

_Ingredients for reverse spells: check_

_Books of known beasts: check_

_Souvenirs from-_

Zorlon's thoughts were abruptly cut short as he winced at the sound of certain young elf.

"EEEEEEEEKKKKK!" THIS STUFF IS AWESOME!"

That loud, high pitched voice was enough to wake up the dead, nevermind make the mage's ears bleed. Opening one eye, he saw Piper looking at all the magical items he brought in.

"Shouldn't you be in bed right now, Piper?" Zorlon inquired, not all too thrilled about his peace and quiet disrupted. "It's almost midnight."

"Meh, couldn't sleep." Piper said. "It's one of the downsides to being an elf, we're just too full of energy." She giggled, looking around the room full of magic items. "Sooo, whatcha doin'?"

"I just finished unloading that last bit of my magical items." Zorlon said firmly, still looking at his clipboard. "Just need quickly double check before calling it a night."

"How fun." Piper said, her attention locked on what appeared to be a treasure chest. It appeared to be locked tight. "What's in here? Lost treasure?" She was about to touch it until Zorlon Intervened.

"Those are spare zombie parts, ingredients to cure zombification should an outbreak occur."

Piper then stepped back a little, a little unnerved by the undead content in the chest. "Has an outbreak occurred?"

"One hundred times within the last century, as a matter of fact." As an added precaution, Zorlon summoned some chains, so no one, _particularly_ the immature elf before him, could open it.

"Wooooowie", Piper Whispered in awe. She turned to look around some more. "What about this one?" She pointed at what appeared to be a mere talisman. She picked it up and it glowed a bright purple color, which she was awed by.

"Don't touch that!" Zorlon quickly snatched away the talisman, placing back in place. "That is the talisman of Xalazar. Useful artifact in the right hands, can easily teleport the handler to another of the eight realms."

"There are seven other realms other than our own?! Awesome! What are they?" Piper grabbed Zorlon's coat and started tugging it, wanting to know.

"A lesson for another time." he started, pulling his coat away then turning his attention back to his clipboard. "In the meantime, you need to vacate my study; these are powerful magical artifacts, not toys. Besides, you and the others have a full session of training tomo-"

Zorlon then winced at the sudden sound of an explosion behind him, dropping his clipboard in the process. He did _not_ want to look and see what happened, but he had to know. He turned to see the aftermath, only to find Piper comically covered in soot, holding a magical scepter, with her pony tails frenzied. On the whole, she seemed unharmed, blinking several times.

Zorlon gave a very stern look, standing tall and crossing his arms. He turned his back for two seconds, and this happened. Piper smiled innocently, placing the scepter back to its rightful place. After a quick look in a mirror, she couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous she looked under the soot.

Zorlon couldn't help but shake his head a little. _Note to self, child proof_ _**everything **__in this study. _After picking up his clipboard, he quickly read through it.

"Perfect, everything is accounted for." He then approached his desk, to which he put away his clipboard and pulled a book from said desk, reading it intently. After shaking off all the soot, Piper decided to be nosy and see what the seemingly gruff mage was reading.

After seeing the title, the exuberant elf's eyes were so wide, as was her smile. "Oh my gods! Is that Larry Botter and The Mage's Stone?!"

"No!" Zorlon tried to hide the book, not wanting to admit he was kind of a geek. As soon as he saw the smug look in Piper's face, he sighed in defeat. "Okay, yes."

"Eeeeek! I love that book!" After a moment of excitement, she spoke a bit more softly. "It was always my favorite when I was younger." That was when Piper sounded a bit more shy, placing her arms behind her bashfully. _Should I ask? No, he wouldn't do it. Would he? _"Um, could you… read it out loud to me?"

Zorlon raised his eyebrow curiously. She seemed a little old for bedtime stories, considering she was a preteen. He was almost inclined to say no, yet something about those big, puppy dog eyes made it very hard to do so.

"Umm… sure?" Zorlon said, a bit unsure.

"Yay!"Piper then sat on the floor, waiting with anticipation. Clearing his throat. Zorlon began reading the chapter he left off on.

* * *

It had been a full hour since Zorlon started reading. He managed to get in a good four chapters in, usually he would read no more than two chapters per night. Yet, he knew Piper was very invested, with such excitement in her eyes. He didn't seem to mind reading a little longer. In fact, he was actually enjoying this kind of story time.

"With his magic wand, young Botter chanted the spell which…"

Zorlon trailed off as soon as he heard Piper lightly snoring. He turned to see her sleeping on the floor, her head resting on her hands. Either his voice made it sound boring or the young elf was finally tuckered out. Either way, he couldn't just let her lay there. At the same time, he didn't want to wake her; she seemed so peaceful.

Gently as he could, Zorlon carried Piper in his arms, then proceeded to carry her to her room. Onced he entered, he placed her on her elevated bed. Then, as if paternal instinct took over, he placed a blanket over her. As he levitated down, Zorlon couldn't help but smile. Sure, Piper was a bit hyper, but she was still a sweet elf, plus she was still young. He was just about to leave her room, until…

"Don't go, dad." Piper muttered in her sleep, making Zorlon stop in his tracks. He turned to look up. "You know it's dangerous at night. You could…" she then trailed off into a deep sleep before she could finish that sentence.

As Zorlon quietly left Piper's room, he took time to analyze Piper's words. If he had to guess, it was a repressed memory, before she was an orphan. Curious as he was, he decided to let it go; intuition told him it was a very sensitive subject. All things considered, he could probably guess what happened.

He then wore a sad expression. Hearing the word "dad" just reminded him of his past. He took out the locket that he had been keeping in his coat, gazing at his late daughter and wife. He then shed a small tear in his left eye. _Why are the innocents always the ones who suffer? _He had to ask himself.

Zorlon then wiped away his one tear, wearing a firm expression as he walked off.

* * *

**This turned out to be a little more serious than I intended to be. Force of habit I guess.**

**This was pretty hard to write toward the end, mostly because I wanted to express the underlying parental instincts of Zorlon in the right way, without it seeming weird. Hopefully I accomplished that. Ha, and I couldn't help but add an in universe Harry Potter as well, so congrats if you caught that.**

**As always, feel free to review, I love receiving feedback.**


	5. Growing Pains

**It's**** been a while since I posted a new chapter, and for that I deeply apologize, for these past few weeks I been more focused with real life stuff. In addition, to those who don't know, I've recent joined Wattpad, posting some of my long length stories there.**

**This chapter takes place the night before the events of "An Eye for an Eye", as well as kind of a prequel to "Kindred Spirits". Some parts were loosely inspired by bookwrm321's "Mysticon Short Stories", who I give special credit to.**

* * *

It was Midnight in Drake City. At this time, all of the Mysticons were getting some much needed sleep after a hard day of training. That is, except for Zarya, who was always a late night stroller. Back in the day, she would take late night strolls with Piper all the time. Things were slightly different since they became heroes of legend, with little opportunities to just be _herself_.

After a particularly relaxing stroll, Zarya simply walked into the stronghold without a care in the entire realm. Going to the fridge, she pulled out a carton of milk and went straight for the couch. She kicked her feet on the table, and played games on her phone, likely to get a high score.

Well, that moment of relaxation wouldn't last. As it just so happened, Zorlon just finished up his nightly reading and was about to call it a night. That was, until he saw Zarya kicking her filthy boots up on the table and drinking straight from the carton. This would not stand.

Clearing his throat, the mage firmly tapped his staff on the ground, trying to get her attention. No response, as if she was ignoring him. Irritated, he cleared his throat even louder and tapped his staff on the floor more loudly.

"Yeah, what?" Zarya finally responded nonchalantly.

"Feet, off the table... now." Zorlon sternly said.

"And what if I don't?" Zarya challenged, crossing her arms and raising an eye brow.

Zorlon couldn't help but roll his eyes. This wasn't the first time he had to deal with rebellious youth. Tazma was one such person, being quite a handful back in the day.

Zorlon then levitated Zarya's feet off the table, much to the young former street rat's annoyance. "Not cool, dude!" She said, raising her fist a little.

"You're not on the streets, Zarya; there are rules here."

"I don't live life by 'rules', I just do what I _know_ I need to do." Zarya once again crosses her arms.

"I'm sure what you had to in the past was necessary for your survival." Zorlon said more calmly, trying to be more understanding. "However, things are different now. You can't just do as you please. For instance, you can't just kick your feet on the table, people eat off of that. The same principle applies with drinking straight from the carton which, need I remind you, is shared by everyone else. Not to mention being out this late can hinder your training for tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah." As if trying to avoid the conversation, Zarya went back to her app game, wearing a "whatever" expression. His patience wearing thin, Zorlon levitated the phone out of her hands and into his own. "Hey!" She shouted.

"You'll get this back after I'm done talking with you." Zorlon said firmly.

"Dude, will ya get off me about this already?" Zarya demanded, standing up to face him "I don't know why you're even lecturing me in the first place; just because you're my solon, or whatever, that doesn't make you my _dad_!"

Right then and there, Zorlon froze. He was at a loss for words, his face full of shock. It was as if the whole realm itself stood still. "N-no" he said rather weakly. "I guess I'm not..." he then placed Zarya's phone on the side of the couch. "Good night, Zarya." He then proceeded out of the living room, with out another word.

Zarya furrowed an eyebrow. She had to admit that was weird. Not that it mattered that much, she was still glad he was off her case... for now at least. She was starting to get tired of all these rules. _Why can't these people just see things from my view?_ She wondered.

That was when Zarya had a fun idea. She decided that the next night, she and piper would take Arkayna and Em to the one place she knew she could call home... The Undercity.

* * *

Zorlon was just in the middle of the hallway when he stopped. He couldn't help but think about what Zarya said to him. It was not so much her attitude or bluntness, that he was use to. It was just that one word she said, the word that he could have been at one point... dad.

All he could do was look at his locket, staring at the pic of his late wife and baby. The baby in particular was what he focused on. Yet another harsh reminder of what he lost and what he could have been.

After a few moments of staring, Zorlon shrugged it off. He knew he had to remain firm and strong, the kind of example he would set for all his students. He then proceeded to walk to his quarters. He then gave a big sigh, knowing that Zarya would be a headache to work with the following day.

* * *

**This was was a little shorter than the others. Basically, I just wanted to show how Zarya's rebellious nature can clash with an authority type person, like Zorlon in this case, who can be pretty no nonsense sometimes. I also wanted to show some of Zorlon's vulnerabilities, in this case he has a hint of post trauma from losing his family. Hopefully that was done well here.**

**As always, feel free to review, see ya'll on the next chapter! **


	6. Tested Trust

**After talking with an0nym0us-fic-wri3r about this a while ago, I decided to dispense with adding previous stories to this fic, at least for this site. Frankly, it's just not worth losing the nice reviews I've gotten, as well as potentially getting backlash for "copying and pasting."**

**At any rate, This takes place during the beginning of "All Hail Necrafa". This is where we get more in the meat of the matter.**

* * *

Destroying the almighty codex... was this really happening? After all those quests in trying to assemble the codex, Nova Terron decides they need to destroy it? That sounded so... outrageous!

While the Mysticons expressed their disagreements with Nova and company, Zorlon just stayed silent. Never before had he been so conflicted on any manner. On the one hand, he assured Arkayna that whatever happened, her parent's would be saved. He wanted so badly to say something on her behalf.

On the other hand, his duties to the academy were clear, to say nothing that if the codex wasn't destroyed, Necrafa herself would be freed and wreak havoc once more. He had no idea what to do.

"Zorlon, please do something!" Arkayna said to Zorlon, in a panicked tone. "We can't let them do this!"

There was dead silence among the group. They were waiting for their solon to say something for about a minute. Arkayna was particularly waiting in anticipation.

"I'm sorry Arkayna, but Nova's right; the codex must be destroyed." Zorlon finally said, his voice firm,yet with a hint of regret.

Arkayna stepped back from Zorlon a few feet, her expression full of shock. She could hardly believe her ears.

"I can't believe this." Arkayna said, her tone fuming with anger. "After all we've been through, you're taking their side?!"

"Whoa, easy Arkayna." Malvaron intervened, hoping to reach an understanding. "I know you're upset, but think about it. If we destroy the codex, Dreadbane can't use it to free Necrafa."

"It also means we can't free the king and queen, the whole point of assembling the codex in the first place!" Em retorted, not any happier about the decision than Arkayna

Arkayna then turned her attention back to Zorlon, her voice beginning to break. "You promised you'd help me, that we could use the codex to save them. Was all that just a lie to make me feel good?"

"Arkayna please..." Zorlon pleaded.

"I think we've heard enough from you." Zarya added, feeling rather betrayed herself by her Solon "I legitimately thought you were better than the other astromancers, but in the end you're just like Nova Terron, bitter and cold hearted."

That did it. Zorlon slammed his staff on the ground harder than he ever had before; one would almost think the ground quaked a little.

"If that's really what you think...!" Zorlon shouted, trying to think of someway to retort. In the end, he couldn't, for anything he said at this point would be used against him. "Then, there's nothing left to say." He sighed.

With that, Zorlon started on his way, to join the astromancers. He only stopped for a moment to barely turn his head at his students. He then proceeded to walk on.

Malvaron was a bit taken back by that. He had never seen Zorlon shout quite like that before. He then turned his attention to Arkayna, her face full of frustration.

"Arkayna, please listen." Malvaron pleaded

"Just forget it!" Arkayna said harshly, pulling away from the young mage as she began storming off. "I thought we were friends."

Malvaron was trying so hard to be reasonable, trying to council wit the girls. Unfortunately, they were having none of it, walking right past him with scowls. Piper, however, stayed behind to scowl at him even more.

"What?" Malvaron said "As soon as she calms down, she'll see that me and Z-man are right."

Wrong choice of words. Piper gave a small pixie blast in Malvaron's face, with Choko following up with a tail whip. As they walked off Malvaron could only look down on the floor with a somber expression, pondering if destroying the codex is the right choice.**Not gonna lie, I was kind of on the fence with this one, mostly I had to be sure whatever the characters said wouldn't be unlikable in a bad way. Basically, the main accomplishment here was to present that Zorlon is NOT perfect, that he too can make a mistake here and there, and when he does, it really bites him hard.**

**Hopefully I did this well, as always your welcome to share your thoughts on the matter.**


	7. Redemption

**Well folks, I've got good news and bad news. Good news is, new chapter! Bad news, the new semester had started, so that means you'll see a very slow production rate from me story-wise.**

**As you might have already, this picks up where the previous left off. I'll admit the ending may be a bit off, though i tried to end it best I could.**

* * *

The hour had already come. Both the Mysticons and Astromancers were on their way to the crystal archipelago to destroy the almighty codex. Every waking hour was torture for both Malvaron and Zorlon, for tall they could think about was their apparent betrayal to the girls.

Zorlon was especially ashamed. After all, he was their solon, their voice of reason, someone they could always turn to for guidance. The thought of him actually going against them like this made him sick to his stomach. And for what? Some stupid obligation? He didn't even have to look at them to know they were all mad at him, nor did he have the heart to.

"The Codex has been secured." Gandobi informed

"Excellent" Said Nova Terron, just before turning to the girls. "As for you, you will protect the Codex until we arrive at the Crystal Archipelago."

"How 'bout gettin' someone else to do your grunt work?" Zarya flatly said.

"Such arrogance." Nova said just before he and his subordinates moved on to man the rest of the star ship. Zarya's attention then turned to Zorlon,

"What's the matter? Still got nothin' to say, traitor?"

Zorlon didn't respond. Instead, he turned away and stared at the horizon with a sad expression. While Malvaron tried to reason with the girls, all Zorlon could do was stare in deep space; just hearing the word "traitor" from the person who treated him as more than a solon was very hurtful. He could still hear Malvaron failing to council with the girls in the background. Part of him wanted to intervene and reach an understanding, yet what good would it do? It's not like they would've listened to him, all things considered. He then gave a big sigh, for once in a long time, he felt lost. After a little bit, the noise in the background kind of faded away.

That was, untik the abrupt sound of fire crackers filled in the sky. Zorlon whirled his head at the excitement. Before he knew it, the girls made a giant hole in the floor of the ship, and down they went, along with the Codex. He rushed over to the hole, where Malvaron stared in disbelief.

"What happened?!" Zorlon demanded.

"They went rogue!" Malvaron responded.

"Stop them!" Nova shouted. Out of anger, Nova began to levitate Arkayna from the falling platform. "Got you, You insolent Dragon Mage."

"Let go of me!" Arkayna struggled to break free, but Nova's magic was quite powerful.

Z-man, what do we do?" Malvaron inquired, unsure what to do next.

Zorlon kept looking back and forth, from Nova to Arkayna, not sure what to do himself. This was it, time to choose a side.

_I'm __**so**_ _fired for this._

Without a second thought Zorlon fired a magic sphere at Nova, causing him to release Arkayna. Seeing her drop like a rock, Malvaron impulsively jumped down in an attempt to save her. Nova then turned his attention to Zorlon, scowling.

"What do you think you're doing?" The old Star master asked sternly.

"For what it's worth, you were right, the Codex must be destroyed." Zorlon replied. "But, _not_ before I keep my promise to save the King and Queen."

"You do realize that by doing this, you're committing high treason to the council!" Nova retorted

"All the more reason to be where I belong." Just like that, Zorlon jumps through the hole, and before he knew it, he landed on the ship of the Pinkskulls, along with the others.

As they flew off, Nova gave a tense stare. "The Stars will not look kindly upon this, Mysticons!" He said coldly.

* * *

The it had been at least an hour since the rebellion against the Astromancers. Thus far, there had been no incidents and everyone seemed to have made peace with each other. Well, almost everyone. While everyone else had pretty much forgiven Zorlon, it was a little known fact that Zarya could hold a huge grudge.

Speaking of which, there Zarya was, staring at the sunset. The beautiful colors were very calming to her,certainly a welcomed feeling after recent events. Taking notice, Zorlon thought it would be a good opportunity to patch things up. With that in mind, he leaned on the side of the ship next to her, much to the teen's annoyance.

"The sunset it absolutely perfect. Wouldn't you say?" Zorlon started with an icebreaker.

"Yeah" Zarya replied indifferently, turning her head away.

Zorlon then sighed. "Zarya, I know you're still mad at me."

"Figured that out on your own, huh?"

"Look, I know I messed up earlier, but what matters is-"

"I really don't wanna hear it!" Zarya lightly shouted, not wanting to draw attention to the scene. "You think just because you have a change of heart, it means we're all good? Nope, doesn't work that way, it's still a load of minotaur dung that you would side with those astromancers in the first place. Look, you wanna be our solon or whatever, fine. But, I'm making it clear now, we are _never _going to be friends."

With that, Zarya stormed off, probably or shoot a few arrows in the distance to vent a little. Zorlon once again sighed. He couldn't exactly blame Zarya for being so angry. True, she was always wasn't always easy to work with, but she really grew to respect him over time, to the point where he became one of the few people she ever truly opened up her emotions to, something she would only do with people she trusted. Just knowing that was making the mighty mage feel even more guilty than he already was.

Meanwhile, Malvaron and Arkayna wee studying the reverse spell intently. The time was upon them to undo Dreadbane's curse on the Queen and King.

* * *

Things looked bleak. In a horrible turn of events, Kymraw and Tazma teamed up and attacked the Pinkskull's ship, compromising the reverse spell. While Arkayna was heading for the Archipelago to destroy the Codex, the rest of the girls, along with their allies, were doing their best to hold off the oncoming assault. Defenses were holding up well, until...

"It's rammer-time!" Shouted Kymraw, charging at full speed at the pirate ship, heading straight for Em.

Seeing the incoming danger, Zorlon jumped in front of Em and made a mystical forcefield. "Everyone, brace yourselves!" He shouted, hooping the shield would hold. Alas...

Going at full force, Kymraw managed to shatter the shield, running in to Zorlon head on. The rest of the world seemed to move very slow as Zorlon nearly took the full force of the impact, taking severe damage. As Zorlon was knocked back, the ship was caught off balance due to the impact of Kymraw's bike.

Hearing the commotion, Zarya turned around and saw what was happening. With no time to lose, she turned Archer around and flew for the ship as fast as she could.

Defenses were not doing so well against Kymraw, for Kasey was already tossed overboard.

"Kasey!" Em shouted, her mech damaged. Meanwhile, Zorlon was barley breathing. What was the young dwarf to do? To save Kasey and leave her own teacher to die? Or vice versa? Suddenly, the dwarf found herself in Kymraw's shadow.

"Say good night, Mysticon!" Kymraw was just about to deliver a fatal blow until Kitty used her trademark whip to catch her fist.

"Go, save Kasey, I've got this!" Kitty said, struggling to hold the vile troll back. Sure enough, Em did as instructed, and in the ocean she went. Using her axe, Kymraw managed to cut Kitty's whip, causing the young pirate to fall backwards.

Kymraw then chuckled as she approached the injured Zorlon. "You one of the strongest! Out first." Once again, Kymraw raised her axe to attempt to cut Zorlon in two. Kymraw cackled a bit at her victory, until...

"Get away from him, you filthy, snagged toothed, slimball!" Zarya shouted, using her wolf bracer to blast Kymraw off the vessel, with the troll screaming while she does so.

Zarya then quickly rushes to Zorlon, worried.

"Zorlon?! Zorlon!" Zarya shouted, hoping to get s response. Unfortunately there was none. All the damaged mage could do, was groan in pain, and even that he could barely do. "No" she whispered, her voice breaking a bit. "Zorlon please, hang in there!"

"Stand back!" Malvaron stepped in, finally able to escape a few orcs. He then placed his hand on Zorlon's chest, and attempted to use a healing spell. It seemed to work, but a only little. "Not good, his injuries are too severe. We have to move him inside."

"Easier said then done." Kitty said. "In case you've forgotten, we're still under att-"

"Kitty!" Zarya shouted, causing Kitty to recoil. A closer look revealed Zayra's eyes were streaming tears. "Please" She pleaded.

Kitty took a small sigh; she knew she couldn't say no to Zarya."You got it Z-Star." She said warmly. "Cover us, we'll bring him inside." As instructed, Zarya shot down as many orc bikes as she could see, allowing Malvaron and Kitty to move Zorlon inside the ship. Zarya's eyes still remained teary eyed, already regretting everything she said to Zorlon earlier. As she fought on, all she could do was hope for the best.

* * *

**Fun fact, I originally had something else planned for the ending. However, due to the events from "Fangs of Evil", I had to do go with this ending here. **

**Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this, Reviews are always welcome!**


	8. Dire Circumstances

**Long time, new chapter!**

**As you probably guessed, this takes place during "The Dome". This took a little more time to think about than I thought it would.**

* * *

Zorlon slowly opened his eyes; he had been recovering the almost the whole day. He then sat up from his recovery bed, aching while he did so; his muscles (and for that matter some of his bones) were a bit sore from the head on ram Kymraw did on the ship.

"Great Gygax." He groaned, clutching his abdomen. He then saw his staff and duster coat on a nearby chair. Slowly getting out of the bed, he gathered his coat and staff and made his way to the door.

Upon exiting, Zorlon noticed that the sun wasn't as bright as it usually was. In fact, the lighting seemed somewhat green. It wasn't until he looked up when he realized that the dome was up and running. At this point, he knew what happened... the Dark Queen had returned.

Zorlon then heard some commotion going on in the lower deck. There were Em, Piper, Zarya, and Malvaron talking amongst themselves, their tones sounding like panic. Curiosity setting in, the weakened mage decided to investigate, using his staff like a walking stick.

"What the hex are we gonna do?!" Em hysterically yelped.

"What are you getting all worried about?" Piper inquired. "All we have to do is wait it out, and all is right with the world... right?" She turned to Zarya, hoping for confirmation.

Zarya stood silent for a minute, staring at the horizon with a somewhat blank expression. "I don't know, Pipes. I just don't know." She finally said, her tone unsure.

That made worried looks on both Em and especially Piper's faces. Piper was use to Zarya seeing all the angles, no matter how dire a situation was. If she was unsure, they knew they were in trouble.

"Everyone, just stay calm!" Malvaron forcefully said; he had been acting as solon in Zorlon's absence. "Look, I know things are bad right now, but that's all the more reason to keep a level head. It's like Zorlon always tells me, "it's only when your mind is at ease when you can see all the solutions".

"Glad to see some of my training rubbed off on you." Zorlon said, as he approached the group. Malvaron quickly whirled his head to see him walking down the steps. Smiles filled the girl's faces, for they were glad that at least Zorlon was alive and walking.

"Zorlon!" Zarya said excitedly, rushing over to him and hugged him tight. This moment was cut abruptly short though, as the poor mage yelped pain a little, causing Zarya to recoil. "Sorry" She quickly said.

Em was rather shocked at the sight. Sure, Zarya had shown some affection before, yet this was something she expected from Piper.

"How're you feeling Z-man?" Malvaron said, still concerned for his master's well being.

"A little worse for ware, but I'll manage." Zorlon assured, sitting down on a nearby barrel. He then looked up at the mystical dome. "Is it true then? Necrafa is free?"

Everyone simply nodded their heads yes, rather somberly no less. Zorlon then gave a huge sigh; the moment he long dreaded was finally here.

"Then our worst fears are realized." Stroking his beard, the wise mage then had a look of resolve in his eyes. "It's sooner than I'd like, but it's time for the next level of your training to begin."

"Next level?" Piper asked, tilting her head a little bit.

"Yes, sooner or later we're going to have to take the fight to Necrafa. All four of you will need to..." It suddenly caught up with Zorlon the that someone was missing. There was Zarya, Em, and Piper... but no Arkayna. "Where's Arkayna?" He asked, worry filling his tone.

Malvaron simply looked down, his expression ever so dismal. The others too for that matter. Not a good sign.

"Malvaron!" Zorlon shouted, not wanting to be kept in suspense. "Where is she?"

The younger mage winced a little; he knew whatever he said next would likely upset his master. Frankly, he was not happy to report it. "Arkayna stayed behind at the archipelago. Her parents fell overboard during the fight, and she made it clear that she wouldn't leave without them. By the time she came back, the dome was almost up, then she was knocked off her griffin and..." Malvaron's voice quaked a little at the last part. "We don't know what happened after that."

"She'd be right here if you'd have let me save her!" Zarya snapped, not wanting to leave that one detail out.

"You wouldn't have made it, Zarya." Malvaron defended.

"You don't know that!" Em added "Zarya was probably this close to saving her until you held her back." The disheartened dwarf then crossed her arms at him, tears streaming down her cheeks. "And to think I thought you liked her."

Malvaron was about to retort, only for Zorlon to intervene. "That's enough, all of you." He said firmly. "What's done is done, we can only look to the future now. Arkayna's decision to stay behind led to yet another example of the fortunes of war. Try as we might, we can't save everyone. All we can do is the best we can." He then looked to his students, strong and sure. "That's exactly what you've all done, the best you can."

Still feeling down, Zarya went to the other side of the ship to look on. Kitty took notice, having overheard the conversation. Hating to see Zarya upset, she decided to go to comfort her.

* * *

**That's a wrap for this chapter. If you've seen the episode, you know what happens next. From here I'm gonna skip ahead to "Dragon's Rage", since that's where we get more into the meat of the matter.**

**As always, feel free to review! I love hearing feedback.**


	9. Zorlon’s Struggle

Chaos… destruction… agony… it was all everywhere.

The new spectral dragon finally took its first breath of life, and all it wanted was to destroy all in its path. Only the ruthless lich queen, Necrafa, was able to control it, and she wanted it to do just that.

Everyone had their own assignments; Arkayna and Zarya went to obtain two powerful rings that could potentially change the tide of the battle, Em and Kasey went to recruit Kymraw and her goons, while Piper, the Pinkskulls, and the Astromancers did the best they could to hold off the onslaught.

In the distance, Zorlon saw the spectral dragon wreaking havoc wherever it went, looking horrified by the destruction in its wake. What worried him more, Arkayna and Zarya were still nowhere to be seen. In light of this, he came to a rather drastic conclusion.

_I need to buy them more time._

"Z-man?" Malvaron asked, wondering what he was thinking. To his shock, his mentor/foster father darted into the air, charging right for Necrafa. "Zorlon!" The young mage shouted.

One would almost think this was suicide, very few have ever had the courage to face Necrafa, and far less have lived to tell about it, the original Mysticons included. Yet, time was quickly running out, and picking off each and every specter the evil lich sent their way proved fruitless so far.

Necrafa barley turned her head to see the incoming mage, and scoffed.

_What a fool._

Zorlon was flying at Necrafa at lightning speed, his staff glowing, decimating any specter that dared get in his way. He was ready to hit her with everything he's got. Alas, all in vain. With but one blood red fire ball, the evil queen sent him flying right back to the ground, like a comet.

"Zorlon!" Shouted Piper, quickly taking notice of the event. She rushed to help him, only to be intercepted by more specters.

Meanwhile, Zorlon was badly hurt, barely able to get on his feet as Queen Necrafa gracefully hovered down, just ten feet away from the fatigued mage.

With his all his strength, Zorlon unleashed a barrage of spell blasts at Necrafa. Yet, the vile lich effortlessly blocked all these blasts with merely her hand. Then, using her staff, she levitated a chunk of the ground, raising high up. Once it was high enough, She sent It hurdling right at the mighty mage.

With quick thinking, Zorlon sent a wave of mystical energy at the giant piece of rubble into a flock of butterflies, which flew gracefully in the sky. Feeling she's indulged long enough, Necrafa then let out a powerful blast of dark red energy to finish him off. Using his own staff, Zorlon made a mystical shield, which was barely holding out against the powerful blast.

"If it's any consolation, you're far more skilled with the mystic arts than I assumed." Necrafa said calmly, as if there wasn't any effort in her attack.

Zorlon didn't answer back, still holding of the blast with all his might. Noticing this, Necrafa added a bit more power to her blast, which was enough to break through the shield and pushed him against a demolished building.

Zorlon panted very heavily. That was everything he had... he was in dire straights. Necrafa approached him slowly, perhaps to deliver the final blow. Zorlon struggled to get on his feet, falling everytime.

"You still persist?" Necrafa said, somewhat amused. "Well, all objects break eventually. I just simply need to see what will break you."

"Wh- what are you-" Zorlon struggled to say just before he was cut off by a mysterious red mist, summoned by Necrafa's staff.

"Zorlon" said a mysterious female voice. Zorlon's eyes widened; something about this voice was... hauntingly familiar. Within the mist, a female silhouette could be seen, approaching the fallen mage. This mysterious figure appeared to be holding something, almost as if she was cradling it.

_It can't be..._

As the mist cleared just enough to reveal the mysterious figure. Zorlon's heart might as well have stopped.

"X- Xa - Xalia?" He stuttered to say, his voice breaking.

"Zorlon, why did you leave us?" Said Xalia in a somewhat echoed voice, lovingly holding their baby daughter.

"I- I…" Zorlon struggled to say.

"Why did you let us die?" She followed up, almost coldly

"No, no that's not true!" Zorlon retorted. He was on his knees, tears forming in his eyes. "I came as fast as I could! But… but…"

"But what? Did you not care whether we lived or died?"

"I wasn't quick enough. I…"

It suddenly occurred to Zorlon that something wasn't right. He noticed the red mist surrounding him, and saw it was rather concentrated around Xalia. That was when it hit him, this was an illusion.

"No!" He shouted, using what little magic he had left to blow the mist away, thus the illusion disappeared. He then turned his attention to Necrafa, who seemed all too glad to torture him in such a way.

"Well, well." Necrafa said. "It seems I tapped into your deepest regrets" She then proceeds to walk toward him. "It would almost make me shed a tear. That is, if it wasn't so pathetic."

"I don't need to hear this, not from someone like you!" Zorlon attempted to engage in melee combat, only for Necrafa to raise tendrils for the ground and hold him in place.

She then called forth her Spectral Dragon, so that it may have its first taste of flesh.

"Farewell, noble starmage." The Dark Queen coldly said.

Zorlon closed his eyes, ready to accept his seemingly inevitable demise. Yet, as the beast was ready to consume him, it was hit by the train from above. Zorlon whirled, and, to his relief, saw Em with her reinforcements. Albeit they weren't exactly ideal allies, it was great to see he and the others had a fighting chance.

* * *

The fight was over. Necrafa, and Spectral Dragon were finally vanquished, all thanks to the combined power of the twin stars. Afterwards was a glorious celebration, with everyone having the time of their lives. Well, almost everyone.

After chatting with Kitty, Zarya took notice of Zorlon staring at the stars, looking ever so somber. Wondering what the deal was, she decided to approach him.

"What's eatin' ya Z-man? You're missing out on the party." Zarya said, lightly fist bumping Zorlon's shoulder. The older mage barely noticed the gesture, and continued to stare.

Zarya was a bit taken aback, she wasn't used to seeing the mighty mage quite like this ."What happened?" She asked, her curiosity piqued.

Zorlon took a deep breath before answering. "While I was battling Necrafa, she casted an illusion of my wife and daughter." He then pulled out his locket, revealing their picture together. "That's them, just a few days before…" he couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence.

"They seemed so real.", Zorlon Continued. "I wanted so badly for them to be real, to hold my daughter in my arms once again… to have my family back." He then shed one small tear, which trailed down his left cheek.

Zarya couldn't help but place her hands on her heart. From there, she knew what kind of pain her Solon was feeling, which hit a little close to home for her.

"Sorry to hear that Zorlon." Zarya said, her tone rather soft. "I've definitely been there; not a single day goes by when I wish I could see my family again." She then turned back to Zorlon, with a smile. "But, that's just the thing about family, it just gets bigger."

Zorlon turned his head, curious what the young rebel meant, to which she continued.

"Ever since I lost my parents, it was just me, Kitty, and the pink skulls. Then came Piper, Em, Arkayna, Malvaron, Doug, and yeah, even you. Get what I mean? Family is more than just being related to one another, it's about people you care about." Zarya then wrapped her arms around Zorlon, giving him a firm hug. "And who care about you."

Having been enlightened, Zorlon hugged Zarya back. The hug lasted a good few minutes until Zarya's song played in the background. "Think about what I said, huh?" She said just before she went to join the party.

Indeed Zorlon gave quite a bit of thought into the advise Zarya gave. She wasn't wrong, for his family grew quite a bit bigger as well, present company included. The powerful mage then glanced again at his locket, yet with a smile, knowing they're in a better place. He then wore that same smile through the night, as he stared at the stars, spotting two that shined brightly.

* * *

**Another day, another chapter done. I only have a few more planned, like maybe four more to at most. Anyway, as always I hope you enjoyed this one.**

**Feel free to Review!**


	10. Unhappy Reunion

***Walks in nervously* So... I kind of goofed up when I posted a sneak peek of the next chapter on tumblr, as I actually wanted to post this first, so for that I apologize.**

**Anyway, this takes place right after the events of "The Mask". It was actually a suggestion by Mystguardian a from a while back, and frankly it was too good an idea to pass up.**

* * *

Tazma thought the humiliation would never end. Not only was she apprehended by her annoying little brother and his bumbling one eyed sidekick, but her prison is a winter wonderland snow globe, complete with Snowman Jeff.

To say that the girls found Tazma's prison to be humorous would be an understatement, as they laughed like hyenas the moment they saw this powerful foe that gave them so much trouble in such a simple trap.

_For the love of Gygax, just put me out of my misery._

Poor Tazma, by this point she _almost_ wished Necrafa killed her the first day she met her.

After briefing Malvaron on the success of their previous quest, Arkayna proposed a night out in the town, to which everyone agreed, but not before Malveron places her on the coffee table in the living room. Before heading out with the girls and Doug, Malvaron took one last glance at Tazma and sighed.

"Yo mage boy, you commin' or what?" Called out Zarya.

"Yeah, right behind you." He replied. He could only hope to rehabilitate Tazma during her stay here, though that may be asking too much.

* * *

What had merely been an hour seemed more like an eternity for Tazma. It wasn't necessarily the solitude that bothered her, it was that she had nothing to do in her prison outside of tossing a few fake snowflakes at the walls, to say nothing of a few failed attempts to escape. Unfortunately for her, her power shrunk along with her, and the globe was reinforced with magic enchantments.

Still though, at the moment she could at least enjoy the peace and quiet. That was, until she heard someone enter the living room. When she turned around, her eyes narrowed a bit.

It just so happened to be Zorlon, having just returned from Drake City General after a long day of healing those who were wounded during the Spectral Dragon's attack.

"Well, well." Tazma said, rather bitterly. "If it isn't my old master. Tell me, are you holding your new students back the way you held me back?"

Zorlon didn't answer. Instead, her just picked a book from the shelf, sat down on the couch and started to read.

"I see, the silent treatment. You don't think I don't know what you're thinking? "You made your choice, you have only yourself to blame." Please, if there's anyone to blame, it's you. I wanted to know more about the magic arts, I wanted to dive deep into my true potential and become the most powerful mage in the entire realm." Tazma then tightened her fists as she continued. "Yet you held me back, just because you feared I could be more powerful than you."

Zorlon still said nothing, turning a page and continuing to read. Tazma then tightened her fist even harder, to the point when it started to hurt.

"Answer me!" In her fit of rage, she fired a beam of dark magic at Zorlon's direction. Needless to say, it failed to penetrate the globe. Tazma then panted quite heavily, for that was a powerful blast for her current size.

Zorlon then shut his book, knowing he couldn't ignore Tazma any longer.

"You're not entirely wrong, Tazma." Zorlon said, in a melancholy tone. "Yes, I alone am to blame. I mainly focused on Malveron to improve on his magic, when I should have dedicated more time to training you too. "And yes, in a sense I did fear you would be."

Zorlon then looked a bit more firm as he continued. "However, it wasn't for the reason you might think. From the moment I met you, I saw such anger and vengefulness. I thought down the road that you might dabble in the dark arts, and if you were to achieve such power while being consumed but evil magic, I feared no one could stop you." He then went back to a low tone. "I suppose I didn't take into account that you would dabble in the dark arts to achieve such power on your own. Especially considering…"

"Considering what? Say it!" Tazma demanded.

Zorlon took a deep breath before answering. "Considering what happened to your parents."

Tazma's voice then began breaking a bit, her hands trembling, but still she retained her enraged demeanor.

"And it took you this long to figure it out?! I was a mere child when they died, young and utterly helpless. Since then, learned a harsh truth, that might makes right, power is the only thing that truly matters. I only joined you and the academy to better myself, but it was never enough!"

Tazma's voice then softened just a little bit. "I just never wanted the feeling of being helpless ever again. I should think that you would understand, having lost your wife and child like the weakling you were." She ended that sentence bitterly.

Zorlon's own fist then tightened; he wanted so badly to retort. Yet, he thought better of it, for all he'd be doing was letting her get to him. He couldn't let her have that satisfaction. Instead, he approached her and placed his hand on the snow globe caringly.

"For what it's worth, Tazma, I'm sorry for your loss all those years ago. I did my best to help you and Malvaron grow. In the end, I failed not only as a teacher, but as a parent… twice."

Zorlon then proceeded to walk out of the living room, deciding to turn in for the night. Before proceeding much further, he turned his head to the imprisoned mini mage.

"Despite what Malvaron says, he never gave up on you, Tazma. And neither will I." With that, he walked away.

Moments after he left, something incredible happened… tears started to leave Tazma's eyes. She tried so hard to contain them, but the harder she fought, the stronger her tears were. Finally, she decided she couldn't hold them in anymore. For the first time since she was a child, she cried uncontrollably, letting all of her bottled up sorrow out. She sank to the floor, and holding her knees close, her tears streamed like waterfalls; she held them back for so long.

In the halls, Zorlon stopped short, hearing Tazma's cries. He wanted to go and comfort her, but he knew that seeing him right now would likely do more harm than good for her wellbeing. With that, he let one tear escape from his own eye, and continued on, as Tazma continued crying through the night.


	11. Evil Metamorphosis

**Happy Holidays everyone! Hope everyone had a good Christmas this year, and I hope the new year will bring many great things and inspire many great stories!**

**I'm going to apologize right off the bat that the ending to this chapter may seem a bit bland. Frankly, I wasn't sure how to end it that well.**

* * *

The war was over. Necrafa was defeated, the spectral dragon had been slain, Tazma had been imprisoned (in the most humiliating way possible) and the mask that had caused so much death and destruction had been destroyed. Finally, the wondrous realm of Gemina was in complete harmony.

Yet, as all who have been in war would know, peace and tranquillity never lasts.

Back at the astromancer academy, the astromancers were celebrating with a dance party, showing young Malvaron that they're not always so strict or boring. Heck, even Nova Terron was busting some dance moves. With that, both Malvaron and Zorlon got in on the dance party as well.

All was fine and good until an uninvited guest barged right in, blasting a hole right through the Academy. A mysterious figure covered in red energy floated in the chaos.

"Who are you?! What do you want?!" Nova demanded.

"For starters, a little revenge." The mysterious figure said. Once the aura cleared, everyone could hardly believe their eyes.

"Proxima?!" Nova gasped.

Not only was it Proxima, she was wearing the remaining piece of the evil mask which was to be destroyed.

"But, the mask…" Zorlon started. "You said you-"

"Destroyed it?" Proxima said, bitterly. "Never believe what anyone says at face value."

Before anything else could be said, Proxima used her dark magic to snare the Dragon Disk right out of Nova's Hand.

"No, the disk!" Nova Shouted, "You're meddling with forces beyond your control child!"

"Silence, you old goat!" Proxima said, catching everyone off guard. "All you did was feed me lies while I followed you blindly. Now that I have the mask, none of you are in a position to tell me what to do anymore!"

"Proxima please, don't do this!" Malvaron said, hoping to get through.

In an effort to stop Proxima, all the astromancers fires magical blasts at her. Yet, with no effort whatsoever, she stopped the beams in their tracks, forming them into spheres.

"All hail the Spectral Hand!" She shouted, deflecting the magic the them at most of the astromancers. One beam was just about to hit Malvaron until Nova jumped in front of it, much to the young mage's shock.

"Tell… The Mysticons…" the elder mage said with his last breath, just before he was engulfed in dark red smoke. What followed was truly horrifying.

One by one, the astromancers became mindless minions with crimson masks. The newly corrupted Nova Terron then rose, and was just about to apprehend Malvaron.

That was, until Zorlon intervened, firing a bright blue aura at Nova, blasting him back a few feet. The fierce mage them got between Malvaron and the corrupted mages.

"Malvaron, you need to go and warn the girls." Zorlon said firmly. " I'll hold them off for as long as I can."

"No way, Z-man, I'm not leaving you!" Malvaron said, grabbing the older mage's arm

"Don't argue with me, boy!" Zorlon whirled, grabbing his pupil by his shoulders. "Even together we can't beat them. The girls need a solon… they need you."

Malvaron was frozen for a moment. He's known Zorlon ever since he was a little boy. In fact, he was practically raised by him. The thought of leaving him to his potential doom frightened the young mage to no end. Yet, he knew his mentor was right. The odds were against him, and once again the Mysticons were needed.

Malvaron was immediately brought out of his thoughts as the sound of one of the corrupted mages blasting at him, which Zorlon quickly deflected.

"Go, now!" Zorlon demanded.

This was it, Malvaron's window was closing. With a heavy heart, he ran from the scene as far as he could, not looking back.

Zorlon then summoned his mighty staff, standing tall and stood his ground as the corrupted mages approached him. One mage fired a crimson beam and Zorlon immediately countered, blasting said mage against a wall. Three more mages fired at him, only for him to jump out of the way and take them down as well. Still, more were coming.

Things were touch and go for a while until one corrupted managed to hit Zorlon in the abdomen. As soon as he was downed, more mages began to fire at him, hitting him from all sides. Zorlon's efforts to fight back became feeble, as every hit took their toll.

Having humored him long enough, Proxima charged her scepter, and fired a powerful blast at Zorlon. With what little strength he had left, he summoned a forcefield to try to repel the blast. Alas, the forcefield didn't hold, and Zorlon was knocked back by the powerful blast. Severely damaged, he feebly tries to stand, only to be snared by crimson tendrils by the corrupted mages.

"Well, well." Proxima chuckled, approaching the injured mage. "How the mighty have fallen." Her smile then faded into a scowl. "You know, I was never taken seriously by anyone in this academy, despite all my efforts to better myself. Now that I have the mask, I'm now the most powerful sorceress in the entire realm!"

"If you think… that mask makes you anything more than what you were… then you're truly lost." Zorlon struggled to say. "Please Proxima, it's not too late... you can still do what's right… get rid of the mask. Join your new family."

For a moment, it almost seemed like Proxima was considering the thought. Yet, all she did was scowl, and stared at him with indifference. "I don't have one." She replied. With a glowing red hand, she grabbed Zorlon's forehead, forcing to undergo a horrible transformation. With his last breath, he screamed in agonizing pain...

* * *

The girls were telling scary stories to one another back in the stronghold. Piper's turn was cut abruptly short by Malveron's sudden arrival. Poor guy was running all this way to warn the girls what happened. As expected, it was a lot to take in. Arkayna in particular seemed rather distraught that Proxima turned to the dark side,and even more so that she lied about destroying the mask.

Zarya, however, couldn't help but notice… someone was missing.

"Hey, where's Zorlon?" Zarya inquired, with concern in her voice.

Malvaron fell silent with that question, causing the girls to get rather worried. Even the imprisoned Tazma turned her head to look, more out of curiosity than anything else.

"He opted to stay behind." He said rather somberly.

"What?!" Zarya snapped, causing the young mage to recoil a bit.

"We were outnumbered, even both of us combined wouldn't have been able to fend them off. He held them off so I could escape."

"Well, we can't just stand here, we have to help him!" With that, Zarya darted for the exit.

"Whoa Zarya, hold it!" Said Em, jumping blocking Zarya's path. "You heard Malvaron, the academy will be crawling with those creepers, to say nothing that Proxima was already very powerful without the mask. If we charge there now, we'll be toast."

"But we can't just leave him there, he's our solon after all." Piper added.

"If you ask me, you're all better off without that pompous fool holding you back." Tazma said rather coldly.

"You watch your mouth." Zarya replied, transforming and inching toward Tazma with hostile intent.

"That's enough, Zarya!" Malvaron Shouted. "We will save him, that was never in question, but until then… I'm your solon now." He finished somberly yet firmly.

Zarya had a good mind to just zap Tazma right there and then, whether Malvaron moved out of the way or not. However, Arkayna approached her and placed her hand on her sister's shoulder.

"Zarya, we're just as worried as you are." Arkayna said with a soft voice. "And that's all the more reason why you need to calm down. Whatever happens, we'll get through it."

Zarya hated it when Arkayna was right, but well, Arkayna was right. It was no time to be irrational, a new threat has surfaced and more than ever they needed to clear their heads and face it together. Just as soon as she powered down, everyone tried to figure out Proxima's endgame. This lead them to one destination, The Library of The Eternal Equinox.

* * *

A while had passed since the girls reached the Library. To cut a long story short, this quest… could've gone better.

The good news, they escaped the book they were trapped in. The bad news, Proxima had stolen all the star fire ink she needed to create an evil codex that could potentially be even more powerful than the original codex itself.

"Very resourceful, sis." Proxima sardonically said. "But you're too late! The Ink is mine!"

"Proxima stop this! This isn't you!" Arkayna pleaded.

"What do you know? You know nothing about me!"

"I do. I know that you're a person who deserves better than this."

"Exactly, Dragon Mage." Suddenly, Proxima tapped her scepter to the ground twice. "Come forth, my servant."

The girls then heard footsteps from the north section of the library. While the librarian, Snellson by name, hid under his desk, the girls readied themselves to battle this mysterious servant. As soon as this figure emerged from the shadows, shock and horror leaped off their eyes.

"Z… Z… Zorlon?" Zarya said, her voice breaking a bit.

Indeed, this was Zorlon, but not the same Zorlon they knew. As it turned out, he was turned into spectromancer by Proxima, just like the rest of the mages at the academy. All the bright blue on Zorlon's attire turned blood red, and he wore a terrifying red mask with black markings, with what appeared to be three horns on his head, with glowing red eyes to match. As he took his final step, he stood motionless, awaiting further instructions from his master.

"What have you done to him?!" Arkayna demanded

"Isn't it obvious?" Proxima said coldly. "You took away any love you had for me. Therefore, it's only fitting I took away one thing that you loved." She then turned to Zorlon. "As a sign of loyalty, you will set this library ablaze. Let no one stand in your way.

"As you wish… Star Mistress." The corrupted mage said, his voice distorted and otherworldly. Without question, he was carrying out the deed.

Proxima was making a break for it throughout the library, with Arkayna giving chase.

That just left Piper, Em, and Zarya to try to stop Zorlon.

"Whoa, take it easy Z-man! We can talk this out." Piper said, trying to get through to him.

The three were then met with red fire being thrown at them, to which they narrowly dodged.

"He's not listening!" Piper said.

"Then we'll have to make him listen." Em said, summoning her sword and shield, with Piper summoning her rings. Zarya, however, wasn't sure what to do, still full of disbelief.

Using the magical robe that they sometimes use to swing around the city, Em used it to snatch Zorlon's arm. The corrupted mage then snatched the robe and set it ablaze, which would have scorched Em if she had not let go of said rope in time. Piper then used her rings to attempt to trap him, to which he swatted them away. So far, their efforts to capture him were proving fruitless.

Having enough, Zorlon then fired a strong blast at both Piper and Em, knocking them against a wall. As he approached, lighting up his staff to eliminate them both, Zarya jumped in the way.

"Zorlon, stop!" Zarya said. "Don't you see what you're doing?! What Proxima's doing?!" Zorlon didn't respond, and instead just kept approaching. "I know you're in there somewhere, Zorlon, and I know you're trying to break free. Please, you have to fight it!"

At that last word he pointed his staff right at Zarya's face. Em and Piper seemed frightened, not knowing what might happen next. Zarya had tears streaming down her eyes. "Zorlon… please." She pleaded.

It seemed like the end from there. Yet, instead of killing them, Zorlon merely did as instructed and set the library ablaze, much to Snellson's dismay. Immediately, this caught Arkayna's attention.

"Looks like you better save your precious library." Proxima said, just as she jumped next to Zorlon. "Zorlon, take us home! We're done here."

With that, Zorlon raised his staff again and they teleported away. Zarya was left speechless; she couldn't believe her own solon would just set a library ablaze and just leave like that. She had hoped it was some nightmare she could wake up from.

"Zarya snap out of it!" Arkayna said, taking Zarya by the shoulder. "We need to draw out the fire, now." Zarya quickly came to her senses. There was no time to waste. With quick thinking, the girls called on their animal spirits to draw the fire out. The spirits then swirled together to create a tornado to completely suck in the fire, saving…. most of the library.

Alas, despite saving the library, there was no victory here. Arkayna got together with Zarya, and the younger twin held her sister tight, tears still streaming from her eyes.

"He left us Arkayna." She said. "After all we've been through, he just left us."

Arkayna couldn't help but let out a few tears herself. After all, Zorlon was like a father to each and every one of them. Yet, that wasn't all Arkayna was sad about. It was Proxima more than anything. Even after the reveal, she still felt rather close to Proxima. It was like her parents getting petrified all over again… she lost everything.

"We lost them, Zarya." Arkayna said Somberly. "We lost them both to the darkness." Piper and Em noticed the twins grieving, and decided to join in for a group hug. Things have changed that day, and it felt like they were all they had left in the entire realm.

* * *

**Again, sorry the ending may seem a bit bland at best, writers block hit me pretty hard here and again I wasn't sure how to end it.**

**Speaking of which, there are only about 2 - 3 chapters left to go.**

**As always, feel free to review! Feedback is always appreciated.**


	12. Unfinished Business

**Howdy y'all, long time no chapter! Well, there's two reasons for that, and I'll get into it at the end of this chapter.**

**This chapter takes place directly after "The Last Dragon, and also serves as a sequel to one of my earlier works, "My Little Weapon".**

* * *

Another day, another save. Not only did the Mysticons manage to save Drake City from stormy's wrath (with a little help from Claudette), but through good fortune, the baby dragon was reunited Valmuk, The Dragon King.

However, it was not over just yet. With an intense look on her face, Zarya decided to pay her old "friend" a little visit.

* * *

There Creed was counting his coins as a futile attempt to calm himself. This very moment, he was more frustrated than ever now that his ultimate weapon quite literally flew out the window.

"Mysticons…" he grumbled under his breath, banging the table with his fist which caused a stack of coins to collapse.

Charlie and Nixon were a little frightened by this, seeing that counting coins usually calmed him down. Creed noticed them both looking at him.

"What?!" He snapped.

"Uhhh… well, boss" Charlie said cautiously. "We know you're upset n' all.

"But you know what they say…'' began Nixon. "... no use cryin' over spill-"

Creed's now stubby tail slammed very hard on the ground, putting Nixon's words to a halt.

"Just leave me in peace!"

With that, both anaconda twins sheepishly walked out, not wanting to arouse Creed's anger any further. Big mistake, Creed, very big mistake. As soon as the lights went out, he knew what was coming next. He very lightly turned his head to see a face he least wanted to see…

Out of the shadows, there was Zarya, looking ever so tense, staring Creed down. The latter was not impressed.

"Do you really have to hide in the shadows like that, Zarya?" He said irritably, turning his chair to face her. "I can see your heat signature so that's entirely fruitless."

Zarya didn't say anything. Instead, she continued to give a cold, almost icy stare. Creed was admittedly shocked. No snappy comeback? No snake jokes? She would have typically jumped at such a chance.

"What's the matter? Snake got your tongue?"

Again, nothing. Not even a nudge, nor tightening of her fists. Instead, she just continued to stare.

At this point, Creed was starting to quake a little. _What's this? Nerves?! Am I really intimidated by this… this good for nothing street rat?! _He had never seen Zarya this stoic before. Sure, her impatience and short temper were well known in the Undercity, but she's at least been vocal about it. It was very unnerving.

However, a thought occurred that maybe this was all just a facade to hide any insecurities she had that very moment. This at least but a callous grin on his face.

"Is it because I got away with murder yet again?" Creed said snidely, confident he'll hit a nerve. "That no one suspected it was me who enraged the dragon? That no one had a chance to observe the scar in her eye? Funny how the realm works, isn't it? Just when you think my true status has been exposed, I always manage to appease the masses with my "good and caring nature." I suppose there were witnesses in the Undercity, but let's be honest, who would ever believe those little, insignificant fleas that dwell in such repugnant places?"

That should have done it. Surely that would have gotten a reaction. After all, everyone in the Undercity was Zarya's family in their own right, in particular the kids she had to look after for at least three years. Anyone who dared to insult them would have found her exploding with rage. And yet, still not so much as a single wince. Still stoic, still with that stone cold stare.

That's it. With his eyes twitching, his lips quivered, Creed simply couldn't take anymore of this ominous silence.

"SAY SOMETHING!" Creed shouted. Without thinking, he picked up his small dragon statue and threw it at Zarya out of blind rage.

Of course, Zarya foresaw that. Without flinching, she fired an arrow at the hurdling statue, disintegrating it out of existence. She then slowly but surely approached Creed, who began shaking in his chair like a leaf, until she was looking at him in the eyes, getting dangerously close to his face full of deadly venom injecting fangs.

"You're protected by royal law." She finally said, her voice grim and dark. "I realize that. Because of that, as long as you cover your tracks, and you can live all fancy free. But things won't go your way forever. Sooner or later, you're bound to slip up, and you'll be rotting in the royal dungeons, and I'll be there to see it." She then summoned a knife in her hand. "In the meantime, if you harm any innocent creature like you did with Stormy…" She then inched her knife ever closer to his throat, causing Creed to breathe more heavily and shake even more. "I'll be the first person you answer to."

Creed then winced his eyes shut, bracing himself for the worst. Upon opening one eye, he saw that Zarya had disappeared, seemingly as quick as she arrived.

Creed was still shaken. He couldn't believe what happened. Not only Zarya had the nerve to confront him head on, she actually scared him out of his wits. That very thought alone angered Creed, how dare she make him feel that way? He then gave furious hissed, followed by a blood curdling scream.

There Zarya was, having transformed back to her normal attire. She could somewhat hear Creed screaming his lungs out, no doubt freaking out his henchmen. She then gave a mischievous smirk. Even if that old snake wasn't going behind bars yet, it was still so satisfying that she had got to mess with him like that. For now, that was good enough for her.

* * *

**So on with my reasons for lacking new chapters for a while:**

**1\. My life has been pretty busy as of late with class, work, and some of my other hobbies.**

**2\. I actually had a chapter in the works involving "Princess and the Pirate", which would involve Creed. Unfortunately, despite the work I've put into that chapter, it just wasn't working out. Try as I might, I just couldn't find a way to incorporate him in said episode without retelling it. So ultimately, I scrapped it, and instead went straight to this chapter that would follow.**

**I also originally intended this to be when Creed finally gets exposed for the criminal that he is. However, I decided against that as I feel it's too soon for that to take place. Besides, I have different plans for that...**

**Ultimately, this means there's only 1 - 2 chapters left, depending on my inspiration. It may be awhile before I actually get to it, but hopefully it will turn out decent.**

**As always, feel free to send feedback my way!**


	13. Too Far Gone?

**Hey guys, long time, no see! **

**Well due to the current pandemic going on right now, I've had at least some time to work more on this fic. With that in mind, please enjoy this new chapter!**

**This takes place during "Heart of Stone". **

* * *

Poor Vexicons; they were really in for it now.

"You bailed… without Eartha?!" Proxima hissed.

"What's the big deal?" Mallory said, sassy as ever. "She's just a big talking rock, it's not like you can't make a new one or whatever."

Before she could blink, the ice witch found herself in red tendrils, being pulled toward an enraged Proxima.

"I plucked you all out of misery, anger, and loneliness. More to the point, I created you to be a team, a sisterhood of evil." Mallory quaked a little, as Proxima's voice became distorted and her eyes glowed blood red. "You never, leave a sister behind!"

With that, the corrupted star mistress threw Mallory at her fellow Vexicons. They should count themselves lucky, that could've been much worse.

"You will find her immediately." Proxima said. "And just so I know you'll do it right…"

With three taps of her terrifying scepter, she summoned the still corrupted Zorlon, who appeared from the shadows. He then kneeled to his mistress.

"What is thy bidding, Starmistress?" Zorlon inquired, his tone ever distorted.

"Eartha has been compromised. You and the Vexicons will retrieve her, safe and sound."

"Umm, no way!" Mallory protested. "You're out of your mind if you think I'm traveling with creepy old people."

"Aww, it's so cute that you think you have a choice!" Proxima snickered. "Consider this surveillance; everything my spectromancers see, I see." With her eyes once again glowing, and her voice becoming distorted, her order had been made official. "Find her… Now!"

* * *

Time had passed, and there was good news and…. not so good news.

The good news, the Mysticons, with the eventual aid of the dwarves, had successfully created a core stone, fueled by pure good, for the dying Eartha. The not so good news, the Vexicons along with the corrupted Zorlon caught up with them, and were giving them a run for their gold no less.

Just as Eartha was about to grasp the core stone, which was imbued with pure benevolent magic, Zorlon trapped her in crimson red tendrils, stopping her in her tracks.

"Come back to us, Eartha. Come back to your mistress." Zorlon insisted

"I…" Eartha struggled to say. "I can't…"

"Then you are no use."

With that, Zorlon tightened his fist, which caused the tendrils to squeeze tighter, causing a few fractures along the already dying golem's body.

"Zorlon stop, you're killing her!" Em pleaded.

"If she chooses not to return to the mistress, then her fate is already sealed."

Em couldn't believe what she was hearing. Clearly, that wasn't Zorlon talking.

"Okay, I don't know who you think you are, but the Zorlon I know would never say anything close to that! He was always compassionate to those who were in need, and would always do anything to help them."

The young dwarf then approached Zorlon cautiously yet steadily, trying so hard to get through to the Zorlon she knew. "I was always taught to see the good in people, and I know there's still some good in you. Please Zorlon, snap out of it."

"You waste your efforts, dwarf. Your master is dead, and soon you shall be as well!"

With that, the corrupted mage fired a barrage of powerful blasts at Em, who quickly summoned her shield to protect herself. Other than being pushed back several feet onto back, she was unharmed.

Just as Zorlon was about to finish Em off, her sisters in arms came to her rescue, with Piper taking his back, while Arkayna and Zarya took his arms, trying to restrain him.

"Go help Eartha, we've got this!" Zarya said.

Seeing the opportunity, Em rushed to Eartha's aid, while the rest of the girls fought so hard to hold Zorlon in place. However, his superior size was making it rather difficult.

"Zorlon… stop fighting us…" Arkayna struggled to say. "We're… your friends!"

"We're your.. family!" Zarya added

"Please, just stop." Piper finished.

Alas, he still struggled hard, doing everything he could to break free. In a last ditch effort, Arkayna managed to conjure up a little of her dragon strength she used against Kymraw a few months back. Sure enough, it helped a lot in restraining the corrupted mage.

However, the struggle was cut abruptly short. Without warning, Mallory, Kasha, and Willa fired their animal bracers at the trio, freeing, yet accidentally damaging, Zorlon in the process. Once back on their feet, the girls gazed in shock. Unfortunately, Em was too late to save Eartha from falling in the clutches of evil, as she crushed the core stone into dust, much to Em's dismay.

"Hey, tall dark and stupid!" Willa said, calling over to Zorlon, who was getting up after the attack. "Get over here already!"

"Yeah, not about to tick Proxima again by leaving you here." Kasha said indifferently

Once back on his feet, Zorlon jumped to the Vexicon's side. With that, Willa teleported them out, just before Em could stop them.

Em then sank to the ground in defeat. All that effort to save Eartha, and just like that she failed. Perhaps Tazma was right, maybe it simply wasn't meant to be.

* * *

After dinner at the Goldenbraids, the girls decided that a slumber party would be a good idea after all, considering it was already so late, and it was quite a day.

Before heading in, Zarya sat on the steps outside the house, looking ever so solemn. Not only did they fail to turn Eartha to the path of light, but as if to add insult to injury, they still couldn't save Zorlon. They had him, surely they would've been able to bring him to the stronghold and try to turn him back with some sort of counter spell… maybe. She would never know now.

"You know I miss him too, right?" Zarya slightly turned her head to see that voice came from Arkayna, who stood at the door. "Wanna talk?"

Shrugging a bit, Zarya scooted over a bit, allowing the older twin to sit by her side. A little bit of silence took place, as Zarya tried thinking of the right words to say.

"It's kinda funny." Zarya finally said. "When Z-man became our solon, I thought he'd be one of the last people I'd get along with. Y'know, with all the strict training sessions, all his rules and all that." Both twins couldn't help but chuckle a bit at that. Zarya's tone sombered a bit. "But…"

"But what?" Arkayna inquired.

"Don't get me wrong, I'll always miss my adoptive parents, no one can _ever_ replace them. It's just, when Zorlon wanted to help, you can tell he cared. It felt good having some kind of… father figure to turn to, ya know?"

Arkayna couldn't help but look down a bit. "Yeah, I know what you mean. He was like that with me too, especially after... well, you know." Arkayna then wore a more confident face. "But one way or another, we'll save him. I'm sure there's some kind of counter spell Malvaron can cook up."

"I hope you're right, Sis." Zarya said. "It's just…"

"Just what?"

"Well, you've already seen how he was! He was ready to crush Eartha, and anyone who got in his way. What if… he's already too far gone?"

* * *

**We're in the home stretch, only one chapter left! I'll try my best to make it a good one, it's only a matter of finding the time to do so.**

**As always, feel free to let me know of your thoughts and send feedback my way!**


	14. The Return

**Well friends, this is it…. the final chapter for this fic! What are we waiting for? Let's jump in!**

**This takes place during "Fear The Spectral Hand"**

* * *

It all happened so fast…

Just as the Mysticons, along with Malvaron and the reformed Proxima, were done talking with Gawayne, the nightmarish tendrils of the Spectral Hand barged right in, absorbing The Royal Guard one by one. To make matters worse, the Vexicons appeared along with the spectromancers with the sole purpose to seize the Royal Palace for their own and eradicate all who dare oppose them.

Yet, just as numbers seemed stacked against them, Proxima had an idea. After telling Em to lower her shield, she mustered a powerful spell. In a flash of gold light, the Astromancers were reverted to their former selves, even Nova himself.

While the Astromancers held off the incoming tendrils, the girls, along with Malveron and Proxima, made a break for the exit.

"How'd you do that?" Zarya asked.

"Any spell can be undone by its original caster." Proxima Said. "Therefore, since I was the one who turned them in the first place, only my mystical energy could..."

Proxima suddenly trailed off. It occurred to her that something was amiss. She counted in her head how many of her fellow astromancers were in the throne room before they reverted back. Sure enough, one was missing.

"Proxima, what's wrong?" Em inquired.

Proxima twiddled her thumbs a bit. "I'm afraid I made a… "slight" miscalculation."

How "slight"? Malveron demanded.

Almost as if on cue, a figure dropped down in front of them. As he stood straight, it turned out to be none other than Zorlon, still corrupted and loyal to whoever wears the mask. Poor Malvaron seemingly froze. Even now, it killed the poor boy to see his foster father in this horrific form.

Lurching toward them like a mindless zombie, he charged his staff, preparing for an attack.

"Everyone, stand back!" Proxima ordered.

With concentrated gold beams of light, she attempted to revert Zorlon to his former self. Unfortunately, the corrupted mage wouldn't make it easy, as he kept deflecting the spells with his staff. Once within proximity, he swung his staff, creating a red energy wave that knocked everyone off balance.

Everyone struggled on her feet, having received quite a bit of damage from the attack, though on the whole no injury was especially mortal. Then, at the worst possible convenience, Eartha charged in and grabbed Arkayna's face, pinning her to a wall.

"Arkayna!" Zarya and Em said in unison.

Without hesitation, Em charged and used her shield to ram Eartha, causing the behemoth to drop Arkayna. The two then locked weapons with each other, with Eartha's strength proving to be more than enough for the young dwarf. Arkayna jumped took Eartha's back, doing what she can to help her best friend.

"Eartha, stop! You know you don't want to do this, so don't!" Arkayna said.

"I've already made it clear, I'm not the good golem Emrald thought I was!" Eartha said as she grabbed Arkayna's hair and threw her at Em.

Zarya attempted aid her her sisters in arms, only to be ambushed and pinned to the ground by Kasha. With her predatory nature taking over, Kasha attempted to sink her fangs in Zarya's windpipe. Thinking quickly, the archer used her bow to block the attack, giving Kasha something to chew on. She then quickly kicked the feline off her, to which both combatants square off.

Panicking, Piper was about to come to Zarya's rescue, when suddenly…

"Surprise!"

The mischievous Willa teleported right in front of Piper and shot a dark magic beam, which Piper narrowly dodged. Piper tried her best to land a hit on Willa, but the annoying little Imp's teleporting abilities made her a hard target to hit.

That just left Malvaron and Proxima to deal with Zorlon. Once more, he proceeded to lurch toward them, his eyes glowing ever so red.

"Take it easy, Z-man. We're all mages here." Malvaron said. No response. Instead, Zorlon charged his staff. "D-Don't make me do this… don't make me fight you!" Tearfully, Malvaron charged his hands with his own magic, ready to duel his own master.

"STOP!" Proxima abruptly said, wearing her typical stern face.

Both mages whirled at the sound of her shout.

"If there's anyone you should go after, it's me. After all…" her tone turned a touch regretful for what she would say next. "I'm the one who turned you into this. All this, just because I was so full of sorrow and rage, because I wanted what I never had… a family." Once again, her face turned cold. "So, come at me. Do your worst."

Zorlon then marched toward his former mistress. Malvaron was very confused, as it seemed Proxima just threw herself in the lion's den. _Is she out of her mind? _

Proxima then made eye contact with Malvaron, motioning her eyes to the corrupted mage, trying to tell him, _get ready_. Catching wind of that, Malvaron prepared a trapping spell, hoping to catch Zorlon by surprise.

Once within close proximity, Zorlon once again prepared to unleash a powerful spell.

"Now!" Shouted Proxima.

Just like that, Malvaron unleashed a magic spell that held Zorlon in place. The mighty mage fought fiercely, trying to escape the spell. Meanwhile. Proxima readied her reverse spell.

"Listen good!" Malvaron said, struggling to his master in place. "You're not some mindless spectromancer...you're Zorlon Icestone!"

In one last flash of light, Proxima casted her spell upon Zorlon. Aside from the Mysticons battling the Vexicons, everything fell silent.

As Malvaron opened his eyes, mentally crossing his fingers, there Zorlon was, groaning upon reverting to his former self. Ecstatic, Malvaron released Zorlon from his magic grip. A little dizzy from the transformation, the mighty mage stumbled a before using his staff to gain footing.

"Z-man!" Malvaron said excitedly, rushing to greet Zorlon.

"M-Malvaron?" Zorlon said, feeling a little fuzzy in the head for a brief moment. "W-wha-" Upon seeing Proxima almost immediately got on the defensive. "Proxima!"

"Whoa hold it!" Malvaron intervened, just before Zorlon could channel any magic. "It's cool Z-Man, she's with us again."

Zorlon took another look at Proxima. Now that he thought about it, The Mask seemed to be missing off her face.

"Is the mask destroyed?" He asked, rather hopeful that was the case.

"Well…" Malvaron sheepishly said, just before the sound of thrashing caught their attention.

As it turned out, the girls were still struggling just to hold the three Vexicons off. Without hesitation, Zorlon leapt into the fray, to which Proxima and Malvaron followed suit.

Zarya had knelt down gripping her arm, panting quite heavily after receiving several scratches from Kasha, who was already poised to go in for the kill. Once the feline lunged, Zarya braced herself for the worst. In the nick of time, a blue fireball swatted Kasha out of the air. Zarya merely opened one eye, and was absolutely bewildered that Zorlon was standing there between her and Kasha, who leapt back on her feet to try to claw the mighty mage, who kept blocking with his staff.

"Hold still you little twerp!" Piper said, her usual optimism being replaced with irritation.

Even with her amazing agility, Piper failed to land a good hit on the constantly teleporting Willa, who was having too much fun taunting the young elf. Just as Willa appeared, she was hit by one of Malvaron's magic beams, knocking the little imp out cold.

Meanwhile, Arkayna and Em were poised to defend against Eartha, who jumped in the air and morphed into her boulder form, ready to crush them. She was only four mere feet from doing so, just before Proxima froze in mid air with one of her spells.

"Sorry, Eartha" Proxima softly said. She then unleashed a shockwave that sent Eartha hurdling away.

Kasha, struggling to keep up with Zorlon, attempted another lunge until Eartha crashed right into her and through the wall. After the battle was said and done, Zarya took a moment to take in that Zorlon was right in front of her.

"Z-Z-Zorlon?" She asked, already getting misty eyed.

Zorlon then turned around to show his usual stern look, followed shortly by an assuring smile. No doubt about it, it was him. Without a second thought, Zarya rushed in to hug him, tears of joy streaming down her eyes. Ever so eager, Piper quickly followed suit, quick as lighting to embrace the older mage, then Em, then finally Arkayna.

More than anything, Zorlon was rather confused with the attention. The only thing he remembered was Proxima taking over the Astromancer Academy and transforming him. Anything else was just a blur. He supposed he'd get answers in due time. For the moment, he was just happy that all seemed well. In light of this, he held his students close.

After a good ten seconds, everyone pulled back, allowing Zorlon some time to breathe.

"So, what'd I miss?" Was his first and foremost question.

Boy, did Malvaron have stories to tell. However, the moment was cut abruptly short upon the arrival of those horrific tendrils, which fed on anything in their path even as they spoke.

"I'll uh, tell you on the way." Malvaron said.

With that, every hastily retreated to meet up with the other Astromancers.

* * *

Hours had passed, and the girls had already left to track down Dreadbane. This would be an uneasy quest for sure, given he was the catalyst for their roles as legendary heroes in the first place. Malvaron and Zorlon looked on as the girls left, hoping that not only would they be successful, but also that Nova wouldn't vomit after gorging himself on those peanut butter dumplings.

Zorlon himself still couldn't believe all that had transpired and all that he had been briefed on; the first dragon discovered in thousands of years, the sudden reappearance of Valmuk, The Dragon King, the Pink Skulls becoming members of the royal fleet, and the Mysticons going public about their identities.

What really stood out to him, however, was that Malvaron was their solon through it all, and the girls seemed all the better for it, as far as he could see.

"What's up, Z-man?" Malveron asked, seeing his master was deep in thought.

"It's just…" Zorlon slowly started, it then smiled. "I just wanted to say how proud I am of you, Malvaron."

"Why?"

"During the time I was absent, it seems you really stepped up as solon. That's all I could ever ask for from you. All this time, I knew that, one day, you would prove to be a better solon to the Mysticons then I ever could be, someone closer to their age, someone who can teach more…modern and perhaps even new means to better themselves."

Zorlon then placed his hand on his wards shoulder, more proud than he ever could be of him. "That's why I wanted so badly for you to be their mentor from the start, because I knew you had it in you."

Malvaron couldn't help but smile. The truth was, he felt like he had his word cut out for him when teaching them, both as an assistant, and as their solon too. He was glad that Zorlon believed in him though, even though he didn't quite believe in himself.

"Just be a little more careful from now on, would ya Z? I'm in no hurry to take your place." Malvaron said.

"Well, I am about six hundred years old after all... I could kill over any day now." Zorlon said, looking at Malvaron, who looked as if that was about to happen. "Sorry, I couldn't resist." The older mage chuckled, which then turned to a hearty laugh.

Malvaron eased up, knowing that Zorlon never meant it. With that, Malveron laughed along with him, just happy to finally have his foster father by his side again.

* * *

**Well folks, that wraps up this fic. I apologize if the ending wasn't exactly "the best", but I really wasn't sure how else to end it. **

**At any rate, now that I tied up some loose ends OC-wise, I can focus on more major projects. I got loads of ideas for this fandom that I'm just itching to bring to light, but those will indeed be told in due time.**

**As always, feel free to send feedback my way. I know some of you have grown to like my writing and appreciate my OC's, which I'm really glad to see since I'm very proud of my work and I can only hope that more will warm up to my ideas in the future. I know my fics aren't for everyone, but to those who do enjoy it, thank you so much for your continued support. See y'all next time!**


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